Phoebe Lankester
British botanist known for popular science writing (1825–1900)
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Phoebe Lankester (also Phebe Lankester, nee Pope; 10 April 1825 – 9 April 1900) was a British botanist known for her popular science writing, particularly on wildflowers, parasitic plants, and ferns. Her writing incorporated both technical, high-level text and writing accessible to the lay reader. She published several books, and wrote a syndicated column for more than twenty years, and lectured on science. Her husband was surgeon and naturalist Edwin Lankester, and her eldest son E. Ray Lankester became a zoologist.
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10 April 1825
Phoebe Lankester | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | Phoebe Pope 10 April 1825 |
| Died | 9 April 1900 (aged 74) |
| Occupation | botanist |
Family
She was born Phoebe Pope in Highbury to Samuel Pope, a former Manchester mill owner, and his wife, on 10 April 1825.[1] She had one brother. In 1845, she married the naturalist Edwin Lankester, with whom she had eight children.[1][2] Her eldest son E. Ray Lankester became a zoologist.[1]
Writing
Lankester published her books under the name Mrs. Lankester. Her books combined scientific rigour with interesting information about traditional medicinal uses of plants.[3] She also lectured on science and for more than twenty years wrote a syndicated column on women's topics that ran in provincial newspapers.[4] Her column was written under the name of 'Penelope'. Lankester's husband was a professor of New College in London.[1] The Lankesters were known to have received Charles Darwin and Thomas Henry Huxley at their home, among other famous guests.[1]
Lankester wrote a new section on popular plant knowledge for the third (1884) edition of English Botany, a publication that had illustrations by James Sowerby and other members of the Sowerby family.[5]
Lankester died in London on 9 April 1900, predeceased by her husband, who died in 1874.[1]
Selected books
- A Plain and Easy Account of the British Ferns (1860)
- Wild Flowers Worth Notice (1879)
- Talks About Plants, Or, Early Lessons in Botany (1879)
- The National Thrift Reader (1880)
- British Ferns (1881)